Friday, March 23, 2007

After the review I did of Happy Feet you might think I'm a difficult person to please when it comes to movies but truth is, I love a good movie as much as the next ticket holder. It just happens that nowadays good movies--those worth the current ticket price of $54.25 plus tax--are hard to come by but this one is intriguing enough to warrant a review.

Premonition, starring Sandra Bullock, is a psychological thriller with supernatural elements that in many ways follows the Hollywood thriller formulas but in other ways goes against dramatic convention. I love thrillers--The Fugitive, The Client, Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, Unbreakable, The Sixth Sense--and enjoy Sandra Bullock. She has an interesting screen presence and a flawed but beautiful face that I like to watch. While You Were Sleeping, The Lakehouse, Two Weeks Notice, Practical Magic were all decent movies that left me wondering how she can continually be clad in sweats, sweatshirts and old oxfords and still look so classy. She makes grunge wear look good. So I went into this with a fair amount of expectation and left the theater trying to decide if I was satisfied or not.

Bullock's angst-riddled housewife character isn't far off of the other characters she's played and her husband, (Julian McMahon) is the typical handsome suburban husband but much of the plot is conveyed not in dialog but in images, which the director and actors convey with a fair amount of skill. Subtle glances and actions are clues to relationships and motivations and visual hints are carefully placed for the audience to decipher and put into the developing context. I like a mystery, I like a good hunt and this movie provides a one and a half hour challenge for my sleuthing skills as I watched, mesmerized, trying to catch each nuance.

Some things about the movie are formulaic--the dissatisfied housewife, the suspicious husband, the creepy Sheriff--and other things throw you for some major loops (I can't say more without giving away too much). There are ridiculous plot episodes (I'm certain the morticians of America are more reliable when delivering bodies than the ones presented in this scenario) but individual character emotions and reactions had a genuine conviction that I swallowed whole.

There are the Obligatory Disturbing Animal Images--a requisite for any thriller that wants to creep you out--and then there are more subtle touches: check out the large picture above the psychiatrist's desk when Bullock's character visits. Velazquez's Las Meninas suggests themes more complex than your typical Hollywood thriller. There are Hitchockian (is that a word?) details such as the omnipresent ravens that enforce the tension and make you certain something is not quite right. Metaphors like the jigsaw puzzle give this film a bit more depth than your typical thriller and flatter the audience into believing they're intelligent detectives that are going to solve this mystery.

But I warn you, you may not have this one figured out. Go see it tonight, try not to talk to the person next to you too much (it was a constant temptation to discuss what was happening) and then let me know what you thought.

Hmmmm...I've been wondering if that was going to be any good. My mom is coming this week so my husband and I may actually make it to a movie. I'm pretty sure I'll be forced to see 300 though.

BTW, I made that white choc raspberry cheesecake for my husband on Valentine's Day and he LOVED it. Like LOVED it. Talked about how it could be in any restaurant. I think he wants to run away with you...:) Thanks for the great recipe.

Enjoyed your review. It sounds interesting. I like anything with Sandra Bullock. I'll put "Premonition" on my list of "movies I hope to see in the theater but usually end up buying and watching at home."Julie Q. sent me to your blog. I'm glad I stopped by.

hi scribbit -- i must admit, i like the way you write .. it is clever and well-worded. i just saw this movie fri night at dimond, the 4pm.

sandra bullock and hillary swank are my favorite actors, so i will see anything they are in (except for R movies!). in this movie, i liked how she played just a normal woman with problems and imperfections. i can't remember when i last saw a movie with a character actually doing the laundry and dusting the home -- made it seem more real to me.

i took note how the movie makers didn't have her all dolled up for every scene. they made her seem like she just woke up and ran out the door sometimes because she needed to rush or know something right then and vanity was the last thing on her mind. i liked how they showed some close ups of her face and her little scar next to her eyebrow was visible. some actors would not like that or let that be shown ever because they are too vain (and in and out of plastic surgery appts).

sandra bullock seems to me like she is not afraid or ashamed to just show us her imperfect self through her roles. that is refreshing, she is refreshing, and she is such a joy to watch in her acting craft. thank you for sharing your witty movie review. i enjoyed your point of view.

I went to see it on opening day. I am a fan of Bullock as well as McMahon. I like you, left the theater still deciding if I liked it or not. I won't tell the conclusion I came up with and why because I don't want to give too much away to those of you who haven't seen it yet! Maybe I will have to contemplate giving a short review on my little blog...then I could explain it without ruining it for others! :)